Describing high-order harmonic generation using quantum optical models

Abstract

Optical generation of high-order harmonics is a prototypical example of nonlinear light–matter interactions in the high-field regime. Quantum optical effects have recently been demonstrated to have a significant influence on this phenomenon. These findings underline the importance of understanding the dynamics of the quantized electromagnetic field during high-order harmonic generation. In the following, we discuss the challenges that are related to the theoretical description of this process and summarize the results that were obtained using the high-field, multimode generalization of well-known quantum optical models that are based on the concept of the two-level atom.